Turn on. Tune in. Rock out.

courtesy of Evan Brightly

Evan Brightly is unique, artistic and multifaceted; Evan Brightly has written a novel, produced an album and is an established painter. Evan Brightly isn’t even a man.

It has been over two years since the Phoenix, Ariz.-based band first assumed the identity of Evan Brightly, and has since created an entire personality surrounding the mysterious man with the clock face.

The band’s debut album The Narrator is an extension of that elusive air.

With songs resembling a mixture of Coldplay, classical and even the Moulin Rouge Soundtrack (I’m still trying to figure where that came from), Evan Brightly’s sound is truly their own.

As a whole, the album is perfectly imperfect. The disheveled, and sometimes downright haunting, voices seem to create a specific tone for each track, ranging from bright and optimistic, to grim or cynical.

For The Narrator’s title track, the band chooses deceivingly optimistic piece, “Love Is A Perfect Thing.”

The track is an interesting mix of the band’s sound. The song starts off slow, with a simplistic piano tune, but develops into a more upbeat, progressive piece.

The majority of the album is characterized by more ambient tunes, which use orchestral instruments for many of their darker songs like “Aedee” or “Madison”—giving them more of a classical, old-world overtone.

A few pieces, though, take on a Panic! At the Disco feel. Tracks like “The Frame” are more than a simple song—they tell a passion-infused story.

Evan Brightly’s storytelling ability is what sets this band apart. Each song whether it is slow, fast, instrumental or lyrically dominated, embodies a story. Audiences can easily picture what exactly is going on in each tune.

The song “Run,” evokes an image of, well, running away. The character runs from his fears; runs from loss; runs until he cannot feel anymore. The rushed violin pizzicato perfectly aids the lyrics to establish a paranoid tone.

The album comes full circle with the closing track, “Upon Waking,” a somber, almost meditative instrumental piece that mirrors the tone in the beginning of the album.

The band also stresses the importance in reinventing “rock art.” To visually reflect the album, Evan Brightly creates paintings according to what they think each song represents.

Each piece is as contrasting as the tracks themselves. The paintings range from a simple red heart sprouting tree branches, titled “Love Is A Perfect Thing” (after the opening track), to a jarring piece of a lonely figure, standing in a misty graveyard, named “Aedee” (a song about love and loss).

Evan Brightly also put out a novel that shares the same title, to accompany the album.

For the band, The Narrator is not limited to lyrics or songs. The Narrator is an all-encompassing work, meant to reach readers on all artistic levels.

Evan Brightly sets the bar high with this one, but rumor is, they have a second novel in the works to go with another album.

Album tracks:
“Love Is A Perfect Thing”
“Light, All Light”
“Car With the Windows Up”
“Someone Else”
“The Frame”
“Run”
“To Remember”
“Aedee”
“Fall”
“Open Up Your Eyes”
“Madison”
“Upon Waking”

Remember the blues of the ‘40s? Remember those signature time-tanned voices of Muddy Waters or John Lee Hooker? That classic sound isn’t just for the ‘40s anymore.

Tom Walbank and the Ambassadors has brought back electric blues, showing audiences the blues can still thrive more than 65 years later.

Walbank’s voice instantly captures audiences. He has the ability to go back and forth between a gravely sound in tunes like “Howlin’ Tom Cat,” to more smooth and seductive in “You Got Trouble.”

Close your eyes and listeners are likely to picture a man resembling greats like Hound Dog Taylor or Jimmy Reed.

In reality, Walbank is a pasty white guy who originally called England home.

Another trait Walbank picks up from his blues inspirations is his truly amazing harmonica skills.

In EP songs like “Death Letter Blues,” the band lets the instruments speak for themselves, devoting several minutes to uninterrupted guitar and harmonica duets.

Walbank and his band have won countless awards since transplanting to Tucson from San Francisco including: Best Live Performer (2007) and Best Blues Band (2002, 2006, 2008 and 2009).

The band was even inducted into the Arizona Blues Hall of Fame in 2009.

While most musicians choose to play Phoenix First Fridays on corners or at curbsides, a selective few who get the chance to play the First Friday Concert State.

Normally the rotation isn’t changed too much, headliners usually include London Airspace, with one or two openers.

This week, Captain Squeegee will be playing alongside Buskin Cuffs and Westcott Avenue.

Captain Squeegee formed in 2003, and has become a name that frequents Phoenix venues, and is generally pretty big, in local terms.

At first glance, Tempe, Ariz.-based band Captain Squeegee seems to throw a lot at their listeners. They’ve got bells, brass and keys on top of your everyday rock star staples.

Looking deeper, the band creates layers of sound. Sure all instruments may be playing at the same time, but each has its own beat that seems to meld perfectly with the others.

What is so interesting is the blend the band makes. Captain Squeegee incorporates trumpets and even a saxophone to add a tinge of ska that resembles Lucky Boys Confusion.

Captain Squeegee finds a way to disregard the stereotypical sound by fusing ska tunes with a rock edge to create entirely unique songs.

Aside from the sound, the band sets itself apart with a proactive attitude.

Captain Squeegee organized 2010:  The Future Phoenix, a January show at the Marquee Theatre in Tempe, Ariz. to kick off the New Year, and promote local Ariz. bands.

The lineup included bands that have worked hard making names for them in Phoenix, and in Arizona.

Bands like Black Carl, Tugboat and, of course, Captain Squeegee dotted the stage.

Overall, of the bands that have potential to make it out of Phoenix, Captain Squeegee is a pretty safe bet.

Everybody knows at least one ‘huge music fan’—the one that only wears band shirts, goes to every single concert that comes into town and that spouts out useless artist facts every chance he or she gets.

Those fans have got nothing on me.

I was turned onto music when I was in my single digits. I got a hold of some of my dad’s old vinyl and never let go.

For me, music is much more than a multi-billion dollar industry; it’s a way of communication, and it kills me to see that everything has gone digital—phones, cable, instruments and, thanks to the auto-tuner, even voices.

When my wit hit its end, I set a goal to turn off the radio and tune into some actual music. Now, I’m on a new mission to bring light to these under-appreciated, local bands that have so much to offer.

While fishing through MySpace.com, I came across Mostly Bears—a band straight out of Tucson, Ariz. that may have a few screws loose, but in all the right places.

An eclectic mix of indie-folk-rockers that pump their tunes with enough psychedelic inspiration to send even the designated driver tripping, Mostly Bears proves that varying genres can coexist in their debut album The Ed Mitchell Clinic.

Lead by a series of lighter, more ambient tunes such as “Leda Atomica”—a seemingly folk-based song—Mostly Bears resembles an unplugged version of The Format. But the band portrays its chameleon-like abilities as the sound flows seamlessly into the album’s darker tracks.

“The Pharmacist” serves as a turning point of the album. Lead singer Brian Lopez’s light-hearted lyrics get lost in ominous, more haunting, Muse-inspired melodies.

The band’s psychedelic roots blossom in “Eclipse the World (Oh My Brain)” and “Melancholyism”—two tracks that can only be described as lyrical and acoustic acid trips.

Overall, the album does what only Mostly Bears can do to arrest audiences. By concocting brilliant blend of psychedelia, intermittent with more traditional tracks, The Ed Mitchell Clinic proves to be a real head-trip.

Check out “Melancholyism” by Mostly Bears

Melancholyism Music Video – Mostly Bears from Chelsea Coles on Vimeo.